


Tutoring

by orphan_account



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-22
Updated: 2013-11-22
Packaged: 2018-01-02 09:08:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1055001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Eridan needs Jade's help with physics homework</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tutoring

In fifth period physics, you sit two desks behind and one desk to the right of her. It’s unbelievable that she’s in your class at all. The school wouldn’t let her skip directly to the AP class, either because of a scheduling conflict or the fact that she’s only a sophomore and the counselors rarely let lowerclassmen take AP classes. You’ve never asked her though, so you aren’t sure. Anyway, that’s the class she probably should be in. Her grade is literally over one hundred percent because she keeps getting extra credit on each test.

Which makes Jade Harley the perfect candidate to be your tutor. You have one of the lowest grades in the class. You like science, you wouldn’t have taken physics as an elective if you didn’t, but it goes over your head. Maybe it’s your poor excuse for a teacher, who can’t spell for shit and is pretty much all over the place anyway. Maybe it’s because your math skills are below average, and physics involves more math than you’d counted on. Maybe it’s just that you’re constantly distracted by cute dentally challenged geniuses. Either way, you’ll fail first semester at this rate. Even you aren’t too proud to admit that you need some help.

You decide to approach her after class. She always comes from lunch with her friend (or maybe her cousin?), locked in conversation until the bell rings and the class is called to attention. Interrupting their time might not get you in her good books. But his sixth period class is on the other side of the building (it’s either German or music, you don’t know and you don’t care), so he has to rush to get there. That leaves Jade open for conversation, after she’s jotted down the homework in her notebook.

Once cousinfriend has left, you take his place. Clearing your throat earns Jade’s attention. She blinks, offers a polite smile, and bends down to pick up her stuff. That’s more than you usually get out of her. You feel like you’re on a roll. Now you just can’t blow it. “You got a minute to talk?” you ask, politely as you can manage.

Jade actually averts her gaze to consider for a second. “I have to go to my locker. Can you walk and talk?” It’s a reasonable enough request, and you think her locker is on the way to your next class anyway, so you nod and follow her out of the room.

“The thing is, I need some help with this science shit,” you tell her. No use beating around the bush. “But I’ve got swim practice when they have tutoring at the library.” Okay, you’re just the manager, but you still have to be there. “So I was wondering if maybe you could help me out.”

“With what? The last unit or this whole chapter?” Jade mostly looks at you, though she tries to keep an eye on her surroundings. She manages not to bump into anyone, whereas you nearly trip over a freshman with a bottom locker. But when she asks you that, you look away and stutter a little. That should be all the answer she needs, but she asks anyway. “You need help on everything, don’t you?”

You’d be offended if that wasn’t the correct assumption. But in case anyone is eavesdropping, you tell her “I feel like I could benefit from reviewing what we’ve learned so far from someone who maybe isn’t drunk.”

Jade finds her locker at this point, and you lean against the one beside her as she does the combination thing. “I think Ms. Lalonde is a great teacher,” she chirps. “But I guess I see what you mean. I’ve known her for a long time since she’s…I guess my step-aunt? Do you know if that’s a thing? Anyway, she’s John’s stepmother. I was pretty overwhelmed when I first met her.” As she speaks, she exchanges one green binder for another, and her physics textbook for a copy of Lord of the Flies. Jade closes her locker and stops once again to think. She opens her little notebook and you see that it’s actually a daily planner, filled with all kinds of color coded notes. A slight frown forms on her face as she scans said notes. “Well, if this afternoon isn’t too short notice, you could come over after practice. Otherwise, I’m not free again until next Wednesday.”

There’s another test between now and then. Lucky for you, today works perfectly, so you tell her so. When you part, you have directions to her house and she has reminders written on both today’s page in her planner and the back of her left hand. You spend the rest of the afternoon in anticipation. You’ll be going over to Jade’s house. For like, four or five hours. It’s only for studying, but you’ll still be at a girl’s house for an evening. A cute girl’s house. You can’t help but be a little excited, even as you sit through speech class and world history and swim practice. Feferi notices when you book it the fuck out of there as soon as the whistle is blown, but you don’t have time to explain. You’ve got a study date.

By the time you actually reach Jade’s place, you’re kind of forgetting about the “study” part. You check your hair in a window before ringing the doorbell, even though it always looks fine, but you still want to double check. Jade greets you with not much more than her usual pleasantries anyway. You still feel good about things so far though.

“So, the dining room or the den? The den’s cozier, but we’d have to sit on the floor.” You mumble something about how okay with that you are as you look around her home. Damn, she’s cute and smart and rich. Okay she’s not quite as rich as you. But you could certainly do worse than Jade.

“This is a nice place,” you tell her before you can forget. And because you’re smooth as hell, you add “I wonder what your bedroom looks like.”

Jade rolls her eyes, as you expected her to. She surprises you with a small smile. “Maybe if you’re good you can find out.” You don’t have a response for that, so when she turns you just follow her. She leads you to the den (and she was right, it is so goddamn cozy looking, holy shit) where she apparently already started her homework. Right, you have to do some of that too. The coffee table is covered in notes with a textbook right in the center. She starts gathering them up and clears space on half the table. You guess she means for you to put your shit there, so you sit on the floor next to her and start pulling stuff out. All you really need is your textbook and folder, so it doesn’t take long.

For an awkward moment, you sit there staring at your tiny folder compared with Jade’s avalanche of papers. There’s no way she needs all that shit. Maybe that’s why you’re failing and she’s not, come to think of it. You wonder if she’s going to say something. You decide to give her a moment, but she’s too busy organizing her notes and getting them out of the way. “I have no idea where to start,” you blurt.

“How about the beginning?” She says that like it’s so easy to pick out where that is. “Do you still have your old tests so I can see where you have trouble?”

With a nod, you pull them out for her. Your grades are a little embarrassing, but, well, she already knows you’re struggling. Jade only has to go through the first one before she’s frowning up a storm. “Okay, let’s start with the basics, then,” she mutters. She pulls out a fresh sheet of paper and a pencil and begins writing. Familiar formulas appear on the page as you watch. You lean in to get a better view – and, after a moment, you take the opportunity to place your hand on her other side, almost leaning into her. Smooth. As. Hell.

Jade freezes up then and stops writing. “Eridan.” Not smooth as hell, then. A little bit bumpy if you’re honest. Possibly bumpy as the opposite of hell. “I thought you wanted to study.”

“I do.” She looks at you skeptically and you decide to own up then. “I just figured why not make it a study date?”

To your surprise, her lips twitch as she tries not to smile again. “Okay, for one you should probably ask the other person before just making it a date,” she says slowly.

You don’t miss a beat. Raising your eyebrows in the most fucking smooth as hell way you can, you ask “So, Jade. How about we make this a date?”

That does get a little giggle out of her, so you count that as a success. “If we make it a date, we won’t get anything done. If you want to go on a proper date, you should’ve asked me to a movie or something. Nobody wants to do homework on a date.”

You tilt your head in agreement. But you wonder if she’s implying what you think she is. Maybe you should bite. You speak slowly, choosing your words carefully. “So…if I did ask you to go to a movie or something sometime…not this weekend since you said you’re busy, but next weekend. What would you say?”

Jade can’t hold back a smile this time. “That sounds great. You could pick me up Friday evening, if you like.”

“Seven o’clock,” you suggest. She agrees, and she immediately pulls out her planner to jot it down. You smile as you watch her scribble down the time and your name, and even an exclamation point and a smiley face.

“It’s settled then,” Jade smiles at you. “But for now, we should go over these formulas and definitions again.”


End file.
